South Greenland Tourism

Welcome to South Greenland
- a land of contrasts

South Greenland extends from Cape Farewell at the southern tip of the island (latitude 60 degrees north) to Paamiut in the southwest (latitude 62 degrees). It is in this area that during the summer months Greenland is truly green. Indeed, this is the area that Erik the Red settled in AD985 and led him to give the island its European name. South Greenland is a land of magnificent and beautiful contrasts. Glaciers flowing down from the vast inland ice-cap calve endless numbers of ice-bergs into the deep blue fjords which contrast with the rich green valleys and meadows and majestic mountain peaks, not to mention the brightly-colored wooden houses of the small towns and settlements.

South Greenland is not only a land of sceneic beauty - it also has a rich and varied human history reaching back some 3,000 years, evidences of which are easy to see and comprise part of the region's unique attraction. For many European and American visitors, the main historical attractions are the many well-preserved and visible ruins of the Norse/Viking settlement period from 985 to ca.1500. While visiting the region one can also learn a great deal about the local Inuit ("Eskimo") history both before and after the Norse period, as well as the Danish colonial history from ca.1721-1953. Contemporary Greenlandic society today is itself no less interesting and provides the visitor with many opportuniites to experience an Arctic culture today.

Economic life in the region has for much of the twentieth century been focused largely on commercial fishing. Other important occupations include small-scale hunting and fishing, for personal consumption or local sale, and the production of skin and fur goods, using the by-products of hunting and in a way which poses no threat at all to the survival of the species involved. Due to the relatively warm summer and the fertile land, and unlike anywhere else in Greenland, agriculture also plays an important role in South Greenland's economy. Sheep-farming is the main agricultural occupation. There is also some cultivation of vegetables in addition to growing winter fodder.

South Greenland has received a small number of tourists and other visitors for a number of years, and you will find the local people are ready to welcome you to their communities. In 1994, a regional company, South Greenland Tourism, was established in order to promote the region as a tourist destination in a way that will enable visitors to obtain the most out of the many possible experiences the region has to offer, as well as to ensure that tourism in South Greenland develops in ways which are appropriate and of benefit to the local communities themselves.

At these pages you will be able to read a little more about the region and its towns and attractions, general and particular. You are also encouraged to contact South Greenland Tourism and the local tourist offices in order to get any further information you may require, as well as up-to-date details of current activities and excursions.

We look forward to welcoming you to South Greenland and are confident that your visit here to our part of the world's largest island and all that it has to offer will be full of memories for a life-time.



South Greenland briefing
Introduction The History Greenland's Ice Hiking Getting here

The towns and municipalities
Paamiut Ivittuut Narsaq Narsarsuaq Qaqortoq Nanortalik

Usefull addresses
Hotels & Youth Hostels Local Tourist Offices

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